This Thursday, October 19, 2017, students turned out in large numbers to watch the screening and take part in the debate with Jean DUJARDIN.
Jean DUJARDIN didn't seek to defend an original approach to acting, but rather to define his day-to-day professional life in concrete terms, claiming to be more hardworking than truly gifted in his art, a sign of modesty that only reinforced the natural sympathy he could arouse. During the two-hour masterclass, the actor returned, sometimes in great detail, to the major stages of his career and the way in which he approached the profession depending on who was directing him, rightly emphasizing the pleasure he had had in working with Michel HAZANAVICIUS and Claude LELOUCH, the methods employed by the latter giving the actor an extra measure of freedom. But the debates went beyond the simple question of acting. The film chosen to be screened before the masterclass was a sketch film, Les Infidèleswhose obvious model is that of the great Italian comedy films, including Monsters remains the gold standard.
DUJARDIN is not only the performer (or rather performers, as he demonstrates a real talent for chameleon-like interaction throughout the various sketches), but also the creator, (co)producer and even one of the directors (of the last sketch, co-written with Gilles LELLOUCHE). An opportunity to show that he had a vision of the world and that his choices, when it came to accepting a role in a film, were guided by a real requirement. He admits that his Oscar win for The Artistcould have led to an international career, which he wasn't really interested in. For the time being, our man is in his mid-forties, and there's no doubt that, if he persists in his high standards, he'll remain at the top of his compatriots' list of most sought-after actors for some time to come.
